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The 6,670 feet of earthen dike pulled out of the river delta near the Red Salmon Slough on the Pierce County side of the river caps nearly 12 years of estuary restoration work where the river meets South Sound.
In that time, more than 8 miles of dike have been removed to recover more than 900 acres of estuary on both sides of the river, federal and tribal officials said.
The latest project is on property owned by
the Nisqually Indian Tribe. The bulk of the previous work has been on the west side of the river on the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Once unshackled, the river mouth will probably develop more tributaries and channels for fish to move in and out of the river delta, which is a prime feeding and rearing ground for juvenile salmon, noted Florian Leischner, tribal habitat biologist. The mouth of the river could even move at some point, he said.
“Historically, the river was able to move across its wide flood plain here at the mouth,” Leischner said during a tour of the project site Tuesday. “But for the past century, it’s been held in one path by the dikes.”
Estuary restoration work in the Nisqually Delta is a key cog in efforts to restore salmon runs, including Puget Sound chinook salmon, which were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999.
The estuary restoration efforts are paying dividends, said David Troutt, the tribe’s natural resources director.
“We’re tracking a lot of benefits for salmon in the estuary since it has been restored,” Troutt said. “The salmon coming into the estuary are finding the food they need here.”
Studies have shown that about 25 percent of the salmon using the estuary are from other Puget Sound river systems, including the Deschutes, White and Green rivers, Leischner said.
The river dikes were built at the turn of the 20th century to create pasture and farmland on the west side of the river and access for duck hunters on the east side. Several remnant duck blinds on the former Braget Farm are still visible on the property now owned by the tribe. They are scheduled for removal, too.
The $300,000 dike removal project, funded by state and federal grants, began Aug. 1. It includes the removal of an old wooden bridge and the creosote pilings that supported it across Red Salmon Slough.
The 13,000 cubic yards of dike material excavated along the river are being used on site to improve contours in the estuary and nearby uplands, Leischner said.
John Dodge: 360-754-5444 jdodge@theolympian.com
